Denise's Blog
Money Insights, Wisdom, and More
FALL DOWN SEVEN GET UP EIGHT
The faded childhood scars on my knees hold memories of me learning how to ride a bike minus the training wheels. If I look hard enough I can still see imbedded gravel under the skin. When I used to fall, it never occurred to me to wash off my cuts. I would just hop back on my bike, let the blood run down my leg until the cuts stopped bleeding and keep on going. It wasn’t until after the ride, I actually felt the stinging pain of the cut, when my mom would apply a concoction of hydrogen peroxide, alcohol and the antiseptic mercurochrome.
Whether it was riding my bike, roller skating or skiing, I always felt a comfort in falling down sooner rather than later. The men in my family (my dad and his seven brothers) taught me the art of how to fall down with minimal impact to the body. They taught me that falling down was just a part of the process in learning anything new and it was how one landed that was important. The intensity and quality of the landing could make it easier or more difficult to get back up.
Little did I realize I would apply this sage wisdom to my financial consulting business. Some of my business “fallings” have been my greatest lessons in how to get back up, dust myself off, and move forward in a more expansive way. I dedicate this article to my dad and Uncles, thanking them for teaching me resilency skills. In a nutshell, here are the lessons.
LEAN INTO THE FALL RELAXED RATHER THAN BRACING YOURSELF
“You’ll hurt yourself if you resist the fall. Just lean into it and roll with it. You’ll land on your feet faster that way,” they would say. There is great wisdom in this lesson.
Before I started my financial coaching business, I had a small practice in stress management and guided imagery. It went nowhere. I made money but not enough to live on. Instead of continuing to pour time, energy and marketing money into this practice, I let it die. It felt like the right thing to do.
I did a good examination of what went wrong. Then I took some time off to allow my creative juices to flow. The outcome of some time off to think and be creative, mentally seeded my current practice, which is thriving! The learning from one business that failed helped me to develop a whole new business model as well as new business mindsets.
FOCUS ON YOUR DESTINATION AND STOP LOOKING DOWN AT YOUR FEET
Each time I focused on my feet, I would fall off my bike or skis. My dad would say, “Stop looking at your feet, they are still the same size.” Keep your head up and your eyes focused about 20 feet in front of you, that way you won’t fall.” Even today, I need to remind myself to look ahead and keep my eye on my bigger vision. I have a tendency to sulk and react when things aren’t going exactly as planned. I am in constant learning mode to go with the bumps in the road and enjoy the ride along the way. After all, bumps are only bumps, right?
This lesson has helped me to do the footwork and often gruntwork of running a business, moving through daily obstacles, all the while keeping my eye and heart on my goal! This strategy keeps my spirits up and helps me to keep all the daily happenings in perspective. Having a focused vision supports growing a business to it’s fullest potential.
TRY NEW THINGS WHILE BEING SAFE AND SMART
My dad taught me how to drive a stick shift by giving me the keys to the car and taking me out in a hay field to practice shifting. I couldn’t hurt anyone there!
One of my greatest strengths in life and business is trying new things while having done my research on the subject…balancing risk and adventure.
When I opened my business I was a terrible public speaker! After joining networking groups and taking classes on public speaking, I created as many speaking opportunities as I could for myself. I started out with smaller events and now have grown to events of 500 plus people. I do my best to be as polished as possible while giving myself room to not be perfect. This is a good balance for me.
The same principles are helping me to grow my business to the size I desire. This past year, I’ve been part of a wonderful business mastermind group that stretches my mindset and helps me break through fear.
I’d love to hear from you about how you fall down and get back up!